Battle Beast
De band heeft opnieuw getekend bij Nuclear Blast Records en komen met het nieuwe album Circus Of Doom op 21 januari. Tien nieuwe composities in de beste traditie van de band met natuurlijk het unieke stemgeluid van Noora Louhimo. De nieuwe single Where Angels Fear To Fly gaat vergezeld van een video.
Janne Björkroth zegt erover: “‘Where Angels Fear to Fly’ was born of gratitude to those who have had the courage to change the world. With the song we want to show our respect for those who have been cracking unequal structures for generations. It was inspired by our grandparents and other brave pioneers who have worked hard for a more equal society.
‘Where Angels Fear to Fly’ is dedicated to everyone who has encountered discrimination, unfair obstacles, or prejudices in their lives. It is written as an empowerment song for those who have to struggle to be heard and to gain the appreciation that every single one of us deserves.”
Michael Romeo
War Of The Worlds part 2 zou naar mijn idee in 2019 reeds uitgebracht moeten worden, maar de opvolger van part 1 komt op 25 maart pas uit via InsideOut Music. De single Divide & Conquer heeft een video gekregen.
Sabaton
De opmars van Sabaton lijkt absoluut niet meer te stoppen. Met hun eigen ‘kerstsingle’ sloten ze 2021 mooi af en starten 2022 met de nieuwe video bij Soldier Of Heaven.
13 Steps
Ook het Nederlandse 13 Steps laat het knallen met de nieuwe single Callous Mind, waarmee het vuurwerkverbod voor ons land voorgoed verleden tijd lijkt te zijn. Energiek, opzwepend en krachtig zetten openen ze het metaljaar van de tijger.
Fit For An Autopsy
Je zou bijna denken dat FFAA beïnvloed zou zijn door Lord Of The Rings, maar Two Towers is meer dan dat.
De band heeft een andere uitleg: “Conceptually, ‘Two Towers’ is an abstract story which follows the journey of your past self and future self, and the forces that pull them apart. Realizing the impossible concept of them meeting, one is faced with the reality of accepting the things you cannot change. It’s a little out of the box for us, but it was challenging and fun to create a unique song for the record. Shout out to director Frankie Nasso and his team for the animated video that brought this story to life.”
De single is afkomstig van het komende album Oh What The Future Holds dat volgende week uitkomt.
Zonder tegenbericht doet de band Utrecht aan op 27 mei 2022.
Ben Blutzukker
Ben Blutzukker grijpt terug naar de Godfather Of Soul die 15 jaar geleden overleed. En doet dat met een remake van de L.A.Style-single James Brown Is Dead. Maar dan wel in zijn eigen stijl.
Vivaldi Metal Project
Bij een goed nieuwjaarsconcert hoort natuurlijk ook een klassieke compositie. De eerste is van Vivaldi Metal Project dat de single Hymn Of Life van het album EpiClassica online heeft gezet. Het is de opvolger van het album The Four Seasons. Ook hier weer een variëteit aan gastmuzikanten zoals: Mike Portnoy, Rob Rock, Jeff Scott Soto, Mike Terrana, Roy Z (B. Dickinson), Mark Boals, Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth), Anders Johansson (Manowar), Michele Guaitoli (Visions of Atlantis/Temperance), Rolf Pilve (Stratovarius), Steve Di Giorgio (Testament), Zaher Zorgati (Myrath), Emma Zoldan / Nils Courbaron (Sirenia), Coen Janssen (Epica), Jennifer Batten, Joe Stump (Alcatrazz), Nick Z Marino (Y. Malmsteen), Chris Caffery (Savatage), Mark Cross (ex-Firewind/Scorpions), Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake), Andreas Kisser (Sepultura), Elina Siirala (Leaves’ Eyes), Zoe Marie Federoff / Gerit Lamm (Catalyst Crime), Alessandro Del Vecchio (Jorn, Revolution Saints), Aeva Maurelle (Xandria), Fabio D’Amore (Serenity), Melissa Ferlaak (Plague of Stars), Philip Bynoe (S. Vai), Kelly Simonz, Matt Bissonette (E. John/J. Satriani), Giacomo Voli / Roberto De Micheli (Rhapsody of Fire), Felipe Andreoli (Angra), Marco Sfogli (J. Labrie), Andreas Passmark (Royal Hunt), Marcelo Moreira (Z. Stevens), Bob Katsionis (Firewind), Henrik Klingenberg (Sonata Arctica), Milan Polak, and many more!
DiAmorte
Van Vivaldi naar de metalopera van DiAmorte waarvan je de video bij Where The Light Grows Cold hier kunt zien.
Zanger Drake Mefestta legt uit hoe het was om te werken aan de compositie: “A book unto itself is required to give the worthy amount of praise to each talent that bled themselves into this. This song journeyed around the world both in music as well video alike. Regardless of future accolades DiAmorte may achieve, still I see myself as a black-clad teenager with a stock keyboard and rather insane dream. To then presently work directly with individuals I once listened to and previously inspired by in younger years is a joy without measure. I myself, am nothing more that part of something far greater than myself, collectively carried by those I’m privileged to call colleges and even more-so, friends and family. All the imagination means little if a skillful hand cannot articulate and translate. It is my hope the music will speak to the talent and collective efforts more vividly than anything I can produce. For all those that contributed towards this mad endeavor, thank you for making a fool’s dream a worthwhile reality.”
Jana Draka
Bijzonder is de video van Leaves van Jana Draka.
Amaranthe
Amaranthe komt na zeven dagen in 2022 met een remix van de nieuwe single PvP, een catchy en energieke composities die gemaakt is om menig dansvloer te verbrijzelen.
Olof Mörck: “Let’s start this year with bang! If you’re still horizontal from the holiday’s indulgences, here’s what we ordinate to get you picked up in style: a danceable yet crushing remix of ‘PvP’, that works as well with your gaming session as it does in the club! Remixed by Elias Holmlid, who has previously lent his talents to ‘Amaranthine’ and ‘Crystalline’, this interpretation will hit harder than any new year fireworks!”
Amaranthe zal 6 november Utrecht aandoen voor een concert.
Power Paladin
With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel is het album van Power Paladin dat via Atomic Fire Records is uitgebracht. Een album waar het hart van menig powermetalliefhebber sneller gaat kloppen. Voor de nieuwe single is er een aangename animatie gemaakt.
Power Paladin: “We still remember that moment after we just finished recording our first album with our no-name band on an island with a total number of inhabitants of less than 375,000, not that far from the North pole and suddenly got hit with a record deal and started to hear that people were actually anticipating the record. It was a kind of a weird situation to be in. We were also joking about how fun it would be to create an animated video for one of our songs and laughed at the idea cause we only know a tiny fraction of the work that is involved in creating such a video, and it is a lot. That’s why we were even more surprised when RMIT University signalised their interest in making an animated video for our song ‘Creatures Of The Night’ as they usually choose from a “highly classified” list of bands that they work with. The whole process was very enjoyable and it was very fun to watch how the sketches slowly turned into form. We would like to thank RMIT University, Simon Norton, his students and all those who helped make this video become reality. It blew all our expectations out of the water and we think it could not have turned out better. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.”